


Dwell Time

by LittleRedRoseontheValley (TheLifeAndLiesOfFerns)



Category: Distant Shores (Visual Novel)
Genre: Airports, Alternate Universe, Aristocracy, Child Abandonment, F/M, Fluff, London, Loneliness, Military, Romance, The Royal Navy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-07
Updated: 2020-10-07
Packaged: 2021-03-08 00:15:33
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,901
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26876539
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheLifeAndLiesOfFerns/pseuds/LittleRedRoseontheValley
Summary: Demobilisation was always a difficult occasion for Oliver. He had no-one to return to. This time, it might be different.
Relationships: Oliver Cochrane/Main Character (Distant Shores)
Kudos: 5





	Dwell Time

Oliver always dreaded the moment they walked off the plane. He has done this many times before, but it always made him anxious and sad.

As the Captain announced the impending landing at London Heathrow, the knots in his stomach twisted just a bit tighter. He had to take a deep, cleansing breath to loosen those knots and the tense set of his shoulders.

He knew they would receive a hero's welcome. There was always cheering and gratitude when soldiers returned home from deployment from overjoyed family members and well-wishers. This time they had been gone for two years, and many of his crewmates were preparing to meet their children or new family members. The air was thick with excitement, it was nice.

No, that part was okay with Oliver. The respectful faces of every one present lifted his spirits. All those people made him feel like he was doing something right in his life; that he was making a difference in the world. Or at least the lives of his brothers and sisters in arms.

What really got to him was the moment that all the families converged and the care was palpable. He was happy for his unit, everyone made it back and was embracing their loved ones, but he was also envious. There was never anyone waiting for Oliver. The loneliness never seemed so bad until you are the only one standing alone amid joyous shouts and tears of happiness without someone to pick you up from the airport.

Born to an aristocratic family from Dorset, his mother died when he was three and his father never really cared for his child. As soon as he was able, Lord Cochrane shipped his son to Gordonstoun, and he could count on one hand the times they met ever since. Surrounded by the who’s who of British society, he could not find himself and never had many friends growing up. An orphan and a natural loner, he only relied on himself.

Oliver learned early in life that others were only out for themselves. Under the oppressive atmosphere at the boarding school and the deceiving colleagues, he kept to himself, watched his back after that and spent his time with his books and learning. He was not going to be stuck in that hell forever; he vowed to get out.

After being shown the door on his 18th birthday and high school graduation, before he could even take the train back to southern England, Oliver took a chance on himself at an enlistment booth in Aberdeen.

He signed his life away on the dotted line and had been a soldier ever since. He finally learned what it was to rely on others and have them believe and rely on you. Every minute of every day during basic training, Oliver's thought processes were being rewired.

Gone was the " _I look out for only me_ " mentality. In its place was the “ _We look out for each other_ " mantra. Every training exercise was focused on making the unit work together. Hell Week was 7 days of being in the field with a 150 pound pack and miles of running every day. Oliver finally saw how much his unit had become the brothers and sisters he never had when on the last leg of their journey, he took a bad fall and could not walk without support. They all gladly helped him the last few miles to camp and razzed him to keep his spirits up. It was humbling and he never took it for granted.

His current rank was Captain and he was in the field wherever his brothers were. Oliver had a sharp mind and was exceptional at raw data analysis. At least that is what the army called it. Oliver just always trusted his gut; that undefinable knowing that something was right or wrong.

This aptitude developed as the bearings of a very mischievous, observant child. Oliver always knew the best ways to get in and out of trouble. He took pride in getting all his guys home after every tour.

Back to the present, he felt an acute ache in his heart for what he saw all around him. Fathers, children, mothers, lovers, overjoyed to see their significant others, as they walked out to thunderous applause. He could feel his world shrinking again. Just like that, he was back to his childhood of watching from the side-lines, aching for the day it was his turn.

Oliver paused to send up a quick prayer of gratitude and watched the reunions. His friend Charlie was kissing her bride. They had been married a few weeks before the unit got the orders to go. He knew she would give him a ride to where he would be staying or invite him to a welcome home barbeque at his in-laws. Oliver definitely did not want to intrude on their reunion, though. They may have been married a couple years now, but they were definitively still newlyweds.

His other friend Edward was seeing his baby boy for the first time in the flesh. His girlfriend, Patricia, had found out she was pregnant a couple months after they were shipped out.

Times like these made him feel so alone, even in a crowded airport. It seemed like he would always be alone.

Well, alone in the sense of having that permanent home in another's soul anyway. At 1,90m tall, with short, slightly curly, golden blonde hair and green eyes, Oliver was never lonely for a bed partner. His posh English accent was just icing on the cake. It was all fun and games, but, in the end, he wanted more than just Miss Right Now.

Oliver took a deep breath and pushed away those thoughts. There was no use dwelling on it, as it would not change anything. He turned around to head towards the exit, hoping to avoid the others catching up with him and giving him that pitiful look and offers that would end with him being a third wheel.

He drew up short as he almost ran over a sprite looking up at him in concentration. The little thing surely had something on her mind. She was just a cute little girl, with fair skin, turquoise blue eyes, and a distinctively long and red mane of ginger hair. She could only be three or four at the oldest. Oliver looked around for her parents before kneeling down in front of the little angel.

"Well now, what do we have here? What's your name, honey?" He said with an assuring small smile on his face.

Snapping out of her daze, the girl stood up straight and saluted Oliver before saying, "Daisy Kinsey, sir. Thank you for your service. What's your rank? You don't have the same stars as Grampy. Do you know my Grampy? His name is Admiral Kinsey, but I calls him Grampy. He's in the army too, but he don't live around here. I'm going on a plane to sees him."

"At ease, little soldier. Captain Oliver Cochrane at your service." A slightly stunned Oliver replied holding out his hand. It definitely was not every day a child that young knew about the ranks and stars. Maybe she was not a young as she looked. "Are you here with your Grampy?"

Daisy was about to reply when they heard a distraught feminine voice franticly hollering out for her. Scooping her up as he stood, Oliver looked around for the voice.

"Sounds like someone's looking for you, Daisy. Did you run off from your mummy?"

"I saws all the blacks and the caps and I thought Grampy was here." Daisy said, letting out a long-suffering sigh. _Weren't grown-ups supposed to be smart?_

Hearing the voice again, he combed the crowd, weaving his way through stragglers rushing to make their planes, trying to pin point the direction from which it was coming. Daisy hollered out “Mummy!” as a gaunt, tall, blonde woman impeccably dressed stepped into Oliver's line of sight. The frantic look on her face confirmed she was looking for her lost child.

Oliver's breath caught as he locked eyes on her face for the first time. The woman was a grown-up version of the child, but with blonde flowing hair, instead of red and curly. The little girl must have taken after her mummy.

There was just something about the woman that made you want to protect her, to be with her. Maybe it was her smiley expression or her aura that screamed inherent goodness. There was a genuine look of kindness in her eyes. There was also a fierceness in her eyes that dared anyone to try to protect her. She was definitely the type that could look after herself.

Oliver saw her let out a sigh of relief when she saw them approach.

"Daisy Kinsey! What were you thinking, you silly girl?! You’ll give me a stroke running like that on a busy airport! Mummy was going crazy with worry!" A smooth alto voice cried while reaching up to cover the child with kisses as she clung to Oliver's neck.

"I'm sorry Mummy. I saws the blacks and thought Grampy was here. Then I saw Capt'n Oliver all alone and wanted to give him hugs and kisses to welcome him home!" Looking back at Oliver, Daisy continued. "Grampy says I gives the best hugs and kisses and it makes up for him being gone and alone all the time. I gives him lots of love when I see him, so he has left overs saved up when he leaves again."

Daisy finished her story with a heartfelt hug and a big smacking kiss to Oliver's cheek. His heart squeezed in his chest as he gave her a tight hug in return and kissed her forehead.

Meeting the lady's eyes, he could see she was a little teary. Oliver was truly hoping it worked that way. He would need that extra love saved up when he finally went on his way.

"Well now, that definitely the best welcome home I've ever had." Stretching his hand forward for Daisy's mom to shake. "Captain Oliver Cochrane, madam."

"Penelope Kinsey, but please call me Penny. Welcome home Captain. Thank you for your service and for bringing Daisy back. I'm sorry if she interrupted anything."

As Penny shook Oliver's hand, he felt a warmth spread through his chest. He noticed she did not have on a ring nor a tan line on her finger. Here is to hoping she did not have anyone waiting for her either.

"Not at all, ma'am. As she said, I was alone. Just about to head out when I noticed this little flower." He replied as the earlier loneliness tried to push back the warmth he was feeling.

Penny frowned at the thought of a soldier returning home with no one to receive him. Her dad would take off on deployment often when she was a kid, and so she knew how much it meant to her father when she was there to welcome him, and even now with Daisy, upon his return.

General Kinsey always told his daughter that she was the reason he always came home and the light in her eyes when she saw him for the first time after a mission or any trip was worth everything he went through. He would do it a thousand times to get back to his little girl and feel the unconditional love of his youngest child.

It hurt her heart to think of any soldier not having that feeling when he returned home.

She wondered what his story was because surely, he had someone waiting at home. Just from his looks alone, Penny was sure that Oliver could have any woman he wanted. Add in the fact that he's a soldier; just about every woman loves a man in uniform. Many men do too, for that matter.

The biggest thing for her was his green eyes. Something about them were familiar, homely, about them, they were the eyes of someone she wanted to hold in her arms and take the pain away. Yes, she could see that he had lived through some tough things; being a soldier was almost a guarantee for that. Mostly though, Penny could see that this man had a great amount of love in his heart to give, and a thirst to receive it. How could a man with all those great things about him be alone?

"Alone? Surely you have some family or friends that came to pick you up?"

Dropping his head slightly and giving a small shake, trying not to let the melancholy feeling take hold, Oliver replied, "No, Ms. Kinsey. No family or friends, except for those having their own reunions."

Feeling horrible for her mouth running away with her and sad that he truly did not have someone waiting, Penny laid her hand gently on his arm. "I'm sorry Oliver. I didn't mean to overstep. I'm glad Daisy found you."

Without overthinking it too much, she stepped forward to hug him, quietly welcoming him home. Oliver hugged Penny back with his free arm, marvelling at the feeling the flower and the angel in his arms gave him. It was unlike anything he had ever felt.

"Have dinner with us." She blurted out pulling way at last.

Penny's breathe caught, not believing she was brave enough to ask. She might be brave enough to go into stage or to perform her family’s social duties in London with her mother, but in real life, without costumes or make-up or strict rules, she was actually very shy. Her face and neck flushed a deep rose pink as her eyes hit the floor.

"Have dinner with us and I'll drop you off where ever you need to go. My treat! I mean if you want to. I swear that I'm not crazy. I never do this, but everyone should have someone to pick them up from the airport. So, let me give you a ride, at least. I mean if you need it and don't have plans."

 _She's adorable_. Oliver thought startling himself because he had never thought that word about anything, let alone a woman, but it was true. Penny was adorable as she rambled on, pink faced and shy.

"Yes! Come with us Capt'n, please? We can go to the Fortress like we always do with Grampy. Can't we Mummy? Are we still going to see Grampy? I thoughts we was riding on the plane to go see him? Can I get chicken tenders with fries and ice cream for dessert, Mummy?" Daisy asked excitedly, a wide smile lighting her face.

Laughing at the look on Oliver's face from all the questions, Penny patiently answered Daisy. "We can go to a greasy spoon if that's okay with Oliver, but he's our guest so he gets to choose. He's been away from home for a while, so he may want to have dinner at his favourite restaurant. As for seeing Grampy, his flight got cancelled. We're not going to see the plane today, but we’ll get to stay in London for a few more days. And yes, if you want chicken tenders with fries that's fine. We'll see about ice cream. Maybe if you're a good girl, okay?"

"I always a good girl, Mummy. So Capt'n, please?" Daisy begged, pulling out the doe eyes and pouty lips.

It is a look her Grampy could never resist, which she used to her full advantage for lots of ice cream and candy. Daisy gave her Grampy lots of love and he gave her the loot. She thought it was a fair trade.

Oliver just smirked at her pitiful little face as he listened to them. Again, he thought they were adorable. He knew he was not about to turn down an offer to spend more time with them.

He was drawn to mother and child. Oliver wanted to know them, plain and simple.

"If you're sure it wouldn't be an imposition Penny, I'd be much obliged for the ride and company for dinner. I don’t really have a favourite restaurant, but I could definitely go for some English food. Besides, I think I need another hug from little flower over here." He finally replied, tickling Daisy's belly and laughing as she giggled.

"It's my treat, though. We can't have the little flower reporting back to the Admiral Kinsey that I was anything less than a gentleman." Oliver added with a tilt of a smile on his lips.

Feeling like fate finally shined down on them and that their lives were turning the page to a much more exciting chapter, Penny bravely intertwined their fingers.

Smiling up at him shyly, she said, "Let's get going, then. Tables at the Fortress fill up fast."

Oliver's smile was a mile wide as they walked through the thinning crowd of soldiers and their families. He had a feeling this was the last time he ever had to feel the loneliness that always tainted his returns.

He did not know what he was headed towards. He only knew was that it was a better place than he was coming from. If there was one thing Oliver had learned over his thirty-something years on God’s green earth, it was to trust his gut, and he had a good feeling about this.


End file.
